Thursday, August 27, 2026

USUAL SUSPECTS

...or creepy crawlies?? In the last week, I have seen many creepy crawlies, winged insects and a few fur balls. But not all creepy. I'm not a fan of caterpillars, but knowing what most of them turn into I can overlook the temporary stage they are in. like the silkworm down below. That thing was huge, about 5" long and just as thick! Yuck. Let's take a gander....look at the head of that thing!


but wait there's more! I got a video of it for y'all.

But they turn into one of North America's largest butterflies or more so moths. I don't see many around here...it's been a few years since I saw one. Here is another in the grass about a week ago.


Of course I came across another big sucker, but a dead one. I almost caught Sophie eating it. Because why wouldn't she? Yes a cicada.
Of course they aren't all ugly.

Here's a beauty in another video I caught after work of a butterfly on the Mexican sunflower.

And of course there were the usual suspects around...the fur kind. Luckily, I don't many problems with them eating my garden up or wreaking havoc with any holes or such.
This rabbit sat for close to two hours in this spot and actually took a snooze there till darkness hit.
And then there was this moment. I was walking past the Hosta on the one side of the house to weed and heard a rustling in the leaves, thinking it was a cicada. This is what emerged! I have seen them at night but never before dark, if rarely.
Very vampire like watching move as it came out of the leaves. I later went back and didn't see it anywhere. It must have flew off. But in the garden at night, I see usually about three of them flying about eating annoying insects. I don't mind all these creatures. Yes, some of them are not all that appealing to look at, but they all serve a purpose in the scheme of things.

40 comments:

  1. So much life in that garden!
    I love it when I see butterflies. Love it!
    And I wish I lived in a house with a backyard I’d have beehives or at least bug motels.

    XOXO

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    1. A friend of mine has 4 beehives in a field belonging to a farmer friend of hers. The farmer is sowing the field with wild flower seeds for next year. Sadly this year the heat has affected the amount of honey the bees have made so they'll have to be fed though the winter.

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    2. Lots of assortment lately I can say. A lot of butterflies lately.

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  2. The more we know about the birds and the bees. Have you ever watched silk being unwound from the cocoon? Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill had someone who did demos every year.

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  3. Yep, some caterpillars can be quite ugly. But there are some that are positively beautiful. I don't mind any creepy-crawly as long as they remain outside. LOL.

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    1. I agree! Which was why I got nervous when we went to Costa Rica the one year. The hotel didn't have glass windows...it was a open air hotel with shutters only. And some of those big were big suckers.

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    2. Eek! Oh, my, no.... I couldn't do that. Wouldda been checking out and finding a different hotel. LOL

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    3. Surpringly I never did see any in the hotel. But did get monkeys on the balcony.

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  4. In the next few days my Caryopteris Clandonensis Gold will be smothered in bees; on a good day there will be up to a 100 bees feasting on the blue flowers.

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  5. Rio sent me a pic of a caterpillar in his garden. I had no idea what it was but according to chat gpt it was a Grey Dagger moth Caterpillar. It looked very scary.
    Aw, the little rabbit. I do love rabbits. X

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    1. I google it. Never saw one here, but agree they are menacing looking.

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  6. Anonymous8/27/2026

    No garden is complete without its bugs and critters. And your beautiful garden attracts the best of both.
    An old Philadelphian

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    1. Thank you! This time of year also, I noticed the spider webs are getting worst. Could they be getting ready for Halloween?

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  7. And here I thought you liked 'em big and thick! :-) But seriously, everything is beautiful in its own way.

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    1. I do like them big and think!!!! And do you see the head? LOL!

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    2. He hasn't met a "big and thick" he hasn't liked. have you seen the limp he's got?

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  8. Your garden is absolutely THRIVING to attract such a wide variety of insects and animals (excluding your houseboys, LOL). Love the bumbles, the bunny, and the bat... I held a little brown bat once in the field and even though I knew it was a mammal, I was still surprised it was like holding a hamster with warm, leathery wings!

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    1. I agree. At my old place I rescued a baby one once. Didn't feel like I thought it would. I think I blogged a little video about it. I took it to the rescue I volunteered at then.

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  9. I never knew bats frequent gardens. I thought they preferred caves and attics.

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    1. That day we had a hard rain storm, so I wondered if he fell out of a nest or whatever in the big pine tree on that side of the house. Not what I expected to come out of the hosta I can tell you.

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  10. Just watching that caterpillar video and the bat gave me the chills!!!!! But the butterflies and bunny made me feel better. You certainly captured the detail I will say.

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  11. Isn't nature grand? Love this post.

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  12. "That thing was huge, about 5" long and just as thick!....look at the head of that thing!"

    You are talking about the caterpillar, aren't you? Otherwise I'd be worried.......

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    1. The South American long and thick I can handle....

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  13. Indeed - These creatures serve us better than the majority of politicians.
    Sx

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  14. Always room for a bunny!

    Yes, when the cicada start their evening chorus, you know Fall is rapidly approaching.

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    1. Your right! I often sit outside at night after 10 for a time with a cocktail and love listening to the chorus of crickets and katydids. It's all you can hear till the wee hours of morning.

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  15. This is amazing. I’ve never seen a bat crawling around on plants in the garden. We used to love seeing them flying overhead at dusk in Connecticut knowing they were having at all those mosquitoes. But to see one crawling around like that is exciting and a bit creepy.

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    1. I think I even gasped when it emerged. NOT what I expected to being making the rustling sound. I'm sure it was fell from the pine tree from the storm that came through.

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  16. Life in the City, My Dear Mistress. Who is whistling in the background of one video clip? Could it be You, a whistler As always I love the photographs and the beauty of your flower gardens

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    1. Well there were some birds and myself whistling I suspect.,

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  17. You think 5" long is huge?! I doubt that very much. 🤣

    We use no pesticides here, either, and the vast array of bees, wasps, beetles, spiders, dragonflies, butterflies, hawk moths and other creepy-crawlies we get is endlessly fascinating. Nothing as exotic as cicadas or giant silk moths, of course.

    That poor bat must have fallen under the hosta for a sleep. It looks hungover... We have a few that pay a visit to feast on the gnats and flies that congregate around the bastard weed trees. Lovely creatures. Jx

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    1. 5" or more inches for a BUG that is, is huge. Why when that silkworm emerges from it's cocoon it might be the next Montra!

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  18. I am soooooooooo not a bug person.
    Luckily there was a bunny!

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  19. I am not into crawling cucumbers.

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  20. I'm suddenly in the mood to watch Tremors again.

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    1. I could have used Kevin Bacon to rescue me when I saw the silkworm!!!!!! I'd rather saw his silkworm girl! It's a big one too!

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  21. Stunning pictures of the butterflies. But that silkworm gave me the chills! Ewwwwww. You got all kinds of critters...you must be doing something right.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!